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Texas Longhorns Defense: YPPA Dominance

Posted by BrickHorn on November 8th, 2009 under Football

Texas is currently #1 in total defense.

That’s amazing in its own right. What’s even more impressive is the Horns’ abject utter dominance in yards per play allowed. Texas is #1 on that measure as well, yielding only 3.53 YPPA. Alabama is second-best at 3.89 YPPA. The difference between #1 Texas and #2 Alabama (0.46 YPPA) is roughly equal to the difference between #2 Bama and #10 Clemson (0.49 YPPA).

Will Muschamp is worth every bit of his salary. Somehow, he managed to lose Brian Orakpo and Roy Miller to graduation and yet improve this defense from somewhere in the Top 50 range to #1 with a bullet. I am simply awestruck.

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12 Responses

  1. p said:

    November 8th, 2009 at 10:24 am

    There is only 1 thing I am worried about.

    Our defense vs power running games has me concerned. We see it so little, that I hope we can contain it with just our front 7. We are small in our front 7, and it showed last year vs Ohio State. Teams will those kind of running games can grind possessions away from our offense. We need to be able to shut that down, without committing too much man power to it.

  2. Sugarpants said:

    November 8th, 2009 at 10:25 am

    What’s more amazing is how many games we’ve played with significant “garbage time” and we’re still looking good on this stat.

  3. OldTimeHorn said:

    November 8th, 2009 at 11:32 am

    If I may inject, the nine teams we’ve played are the ones subject to feeling abject.

  4. BrickHorn said:

    November 8th, 2009 at 11:42 am

    Good point, OTH. English is my second language.

  5. whoopspat said:

    November 8th, 2009 at 11:50 am

    “Our defense vs power running games has me concerned. We see it so little, that I hope we can contain it with just our front 7. We are small in our front 7, and it showed last year vs Ohio State. Teams will those kind of running games can grind possessions away from our offense. We need to be able to shut that down, without committing too much man power to it.”

    What ever happened to the talk of burning Tariq Allen’s redshirt?

  6. trk1967 said:

    November 8th, 2009 at 12:43 pm

    I’m also in the awestruck category. And if anything there has been a slight dropoff in defensive talent this year compared to some past teams. What I see is – a disciplined secondary, no more playing run first and freelancing; LBs that are indeed fast but moreover take proper angles and can shed blocks. It’s basic fundamental football. Can you imagine Huff, Griffin and Ross being coached by Muschamp? We may have beaten USC by 2-3 TDs.

  7. Blake Borron said:

    November 8th, 2009 at 1:41 pm

    I wouldn’t say the talent level is lower. From this team alone, Kindle, Thomas, and AJ Williams could all go in the top ten picks in the draft when they go pro (hopefully . Houston could be a first rounder and Muck is certainly first day this year. Curtis Brown will be a first day pick next year. I expect Eddie Jones to get drafted as well. Not to mention guys like the Achos and Robinson, who are only beginning to tap their potential, and guys like Okafor, who are still young. We certainly don’t have an Scott Derry’s or Eric Halls playing on this defense.

    Aside from that, I completely agree the coaching is improved twofold at the least.

  8. travis said:

    November 8th, 2009 at 2:06 pm

    watching ou- nebraska last night, I can’t help but feel like playing nebraska will be the best possible scenario for us to prepare for an sec team in the championship…… Suh will be better than anything florida has and he is more of a dominant force than cody, they have a down hill power running game, and a very physical defense….. They are the closest thing to an SEC team that we will play all year.

    I am amazed every week by how much our defense and offense are at two completely different ends of the spectrum… Can you imagine if Coach Boom had the O-line instead of the D-line, damn I would be afraid to go to practice if I had to listen to how much he would chew them for such poor play.

  9. Sugarpants said:

    November 8th, 2009 at 6:00 pm

    I love Earl Thomas as a college player but I will be amazed if he is a top ten NFL pick. I will be a little surprised if he is a first day player. Nothing personal, but I am guessing a 5-9 db who weighs under 200 lbs is going to be a concern. I’m sure he will be a good NFL player but that’s not quite how the draft works.

    I do think the rest of the secondary is significantly less talented than the 5 NFL players we had in the 2005 rotation.

  10. trkhorn said:

    November 8th, 2009 at 10:27 pm

    BB-

    You’re definitely right on LB talent being superior this season. Just taking 44 out of the equation has made a difference, but this LB group as as good if not better than any that I can remember. The DL is superb but doesn’t have last year’s depth. We’d be screwed if Houston or Kindle went down.

  11. lurkerinthedark said:

    November 9th, 2009 at 6:34 am

    The very idea of having linebackers that know how to play their position and the talent to do it is something of a novelty here at Texas under Mack Brown (with Muschamp here now it will become the norm, however). It’s amazing how much better a defense can be when ALL of the players are contributing. In 2005, it was sometimes like we were playing 8 vs 11, with the DBs taking up the slack.

  12. Blake Gideon and Nolan Brewster said:

    November 9th, 2009 at 11:24 pm

    “We certainly don’t have an Scott Derry’s or Eric Halls playing on this defense.”

    Don’t even think about it.

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